Home networking gateway

ABSTRACT

A home networking gateway provides an interface between an HFC network and an in-home network. Full voice and data connection between the HFC network and each device in the in-home network is provided through the interface. A translator included in the home networking gateway is utilized to provide a mapping between the communication protocols used in the in-home network and the protocols used in the HFC network, eliminating the need for the in-home network to be dependent upon the HFC-specific protocols.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of Provisional Application No.60/173,700, filed Dec. 30, 1999.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a home networking gateway and, moreparticularly, to a gateway arrangement for providing internetworkingfunctionality between an external HFC network and a network of deviceswithin a “home” or other similar environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) networks are rapidly evolving to support avariety of telecommunications services in addition to traditionalbroadcast-type video services. In particular, HFC networks are beingutilized to provide data services, including high speed Internet access.Cable network operators are expected to be providing medium to highpenetration rate telephony services in the near future.

Telecommunications services, such as plain old telephone service (POTS),can be provided through the use of a unit located on the side of a home,or in a centralized location in the residence (or business). This unit,which forms the interface between the HFC network and thetelephone-based customer premise equipment (CPE) can be referred to as a“communications gateway”, or CG. The CG contains various line cards thatprovide an interface between the HFC network and traditional telephones,for example, using a “POTS card” located in the CG. The CG transmits andreceives data over the HFC network using a particular protocol, which ina preferred embodiment is the Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (DOCSIS), using the Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)as the signaling protocol for telephony applications.

With a POTS card in place, an interface to a twisted-wire pair isprovided and telephones in the residence can be used in a conventionalmanner, with all of the phones connected to a single twisted-wire pairconnected in a bus configuration to the phone outlets throughout thebuilding. Alternatively, “home run” wiring may be utilized, withpoint-to-point connections being established between a centralizedlocation and a particular telephone outlet or set of outlets. Theadvantage of home run wiring is that several phone lines can easily besupported in the home, and phones in one area can be assigned onetelephone number, distinct from other numbers used for phones in otherareas. Multiple POTS cards are typically used to support multipletelephone lines.

At the present time, however, most homes and small businesses do nothave a “home run” wiring installation, but instead use the simple busstructure that connects to the telephone network at a defineddemarcation point. In some instances, a customer may desire to have alow cost basic telephone line from the local telephone company, but willalso want to have additional lines supplied by an HFC network operator.In some homes, additional twisted-wire pairs will not be available.These limitations necessitate other means of interconnecting telephonesor other data/telecommunications devices with the CG. In othercircumstances, a twisted wire pair may be available, but the services tobe provided may go beyond a single POTS line.

Since the in-home wiring may not be optimal in terms of architecture,and may also be carrying a POTS signal supplied by a telephone company,it is necessary for the HFC network operator to consider the use ofalternative types of in-home communications. These types ofcommunications can include in-home wiring networks, the provision ofdata over the existing telephone line (above the POTS spectrum), orusing the in-home electrical power network.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary conventional network architectureutilizing a communications gateway (CG) between an HFC network and aresidence. As shown, CG 10 is in communication with a Cable ModemTermination System (CMTS) 12 over an HFC network 14. CMTS 12 is infurther communication with a call management system (CMS) 16 thatcommunicates with both a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 18 andan IP network 20. As illustrated in FIG. 1, CG 10 communicates on theresidence side with a plurality of devices 22 via an in-home network 24.Use of in-home networking protocols will allow for new services to besupported from CG 10, and will allow for the use of existing CPE (e.g.,standard telephones) to be used in implementing at least some of thesenew services. However, since the HFC network uses a specific protocol,it is likely to be distinct from and incompatible with in-homenetworking protocols, making difficult any communication between the HFCnetwork and the home.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The need remaining in the art is addressed by the present invention,which relates to a home networking gateway and, more particularly, to agateway arrangement for providing internetworking functionality betweenan external HFC network and a network of devices within a “home” orother similar environment.

In accordance with the present invention, a home networking gateway(HNG) is used as an interface between an HFC network and the homedevices and includes the capability of “discovering” the various devicesattached to the in-home network. An HNG in accordance with the presentinvention is also used to provide for allocation of resources over thein-home network. The HNG, in combination with a translator functionlocated in the application layer of the HNG, provides compatibilitybetween the HFC network protocols and a variety of in-home networkingprotocols.

In one embodiment, the HNG as configured in accordance with the presentinvention, discovers in-home devices and their associated servicerequirements, including the type of information flow (i.e., synchronousor asynchronous) and the bandwidth consumption. For example, in the caseof synchronous flow (such as transmission), bandwidth can bepre-allocated for that device.

An advantage of using a home networking gateway (HNG) is that it enablesthe exchange of key networking parameters over the HFC network, wherethe parameters may originate in many diverse in-home networks. Inparticular, the HNG allows for devices in the home to communicate overthe HFC network without requiring them to have specific knowledge of andsupport for the HFC network protocols.

Various other embodiments and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent during the course of the following discussion, and byreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings,

FIG. 1 contains a simplified network architecture of a prior artarrangement for providing communication between a residence and an HFCnetwork;

FIG. 2 illustrates, in block diagram form, an exemplary home networkinggateway (HNG) formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative network architecture configurationincluding dongle interfaces between the communication devices and thehome networking gateway;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process used by the inventive HNGto perform device discovery within the in-home network;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary process used by an HNG to providebandwidth allocation for connected devices;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary protocol architecture for an exemplaryhome networking gateway using an IEEE 1394-based in-home network;

FIG. 7 contains a call flow dial for establishing voice communicationbetween an HFC network and an IEEE 1394-based (FireWire) in-homenetwork;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary protocol stack for an HNG interfacebetween an HFC network and a Bluetooth-based in-home network;

FIG. 9 contains a call flow diagram for establishing a voice connectionbetween two Bluetooth devices through an HFC network; and

FIG. 10 contains a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process fordiscovering Bluetooth devices in an in-home network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary home networking gateway (HNG) 30 of thepresent invention, implemented as a communication gateway including anembedded home network interface 32. In this embodiment, HNG 30 containsthe appropriate software and hardware to support a particular homenetwork and the delivery of multiple service operator (MSO)-basedservices to that particular home network. Home network interface 32 canalso be in the form of a plug-in card connected to main bus 34 andcontaining the appropriate physical layer drivers and interface (e.g.,antenna, RJ-11 connection, power system connection). Software forsupporting the home network can be resident on the card, or contained aspart of the software of the communications gateway. Upgrading of thesoftware can be performed via the HFC network, from the NMS/EMS (seeFIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 2, HNG 30 supports telephony services over one or moretwisted wire pairs through (one or more) Subscriber Line InterfaceCircuit (SLIC) cards 36 and RJ-11 interfaces 38. Home networking gateway30 also supports data services, as shown, through an Ethernet card 40connected between main bus 34 and an RJ 45 interface 42. In accordancewith the present invention, in-home network interface unit 32 is used tosupport an interface to the in-home devices and is based on any one ofthe possible in-home protocols, including wireless, twisted wire pair(data over voice), or powerline. Other in-home interfaces, such as theintra-red protocol, may also be supported.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, an RF connector 44 is utilized to couple anincoming cable 46 to the Multimedia Cable Network System((MCNS),DOCSIS-based) tuner 46. A cable modem 48 implements the DOCSISlayer that allows for HNG 30 to communication with CMTS 12 (see FIG. 1).HNG 30 also includes a digital signal processor (DSP) 50 to performvoice processing, run a compression algorithm when needed, and performother signal processing operations. An exemplary subscriber lineinterface circuit (SLIC) 36 can support up to four separate telephonelines using RJ11 connectors. A processor 52, a non-volatile memory 54and RAM 56 also communicate through main bus 34, where bus 34 alsointerconnects the various other modules within the gateway. In oneexemplary embodiment, a R3000 processor offered by Toshiba may be used.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, DSP 50emulates a pulse code modulated (PCM) highway to communicate with SLIC36 by sending OCM-encoded data signals. SLIC 36 generates analog signalsfor distribution over the twisted-wire pair telephone wiring (via RJ 11interconnect 38). In a preferred embodiment, DSP 50, via the PCMhighway, communicates with in-home network interface 32 to distributetelephone signals and other signals through the home network. In thisembodiment, the conversion functionality (e.g., CODEC) needed to convertthe digital signal coming from DSP 50 into an analog telephone signalmay be implemented in a remote device defined as a “dongle” (such asdongle 58 of FIG. 3) which interfaces with the telephone device on theother side of the home network as illustrated in FIG. 3. In thisapplication, dongle 58 serves as a remote SLIC and displaces the linecard functionality from HNG 30 to dongle 58. This allows a home networkto be used to transport a digital telephone signal that is convertedback to analog at the dongle. In this particular embodiment, dongle 58communicates with HFC network 14 through HNG 30 and acts as an extensionof both the HFC and HNG into the home. The advantage of such anembodiment is that the active electronics are distributed and are placedin close proximity to the end devices. For telephony applications, thismeans that the telephone interfaces to the dongle that receives thedigital signal from HNG 30 over the specified home network protocol.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention DNG 30 is poweredlocally through the customer power network or, alternatively, throughthe use of a battery 60 (see FIG. 2) placed within HNG 30.

As previously described, the home networking gateway can be providedwith an integrated in-home network interface to provide internetworkingfunctions between the HFC network and the home network. In a preferredembodiment, the home network is based on a communication technologydefined by the Home Phoneline Network Alliance (HomePNA) with the homenetwork interface serving as a HomePNA base station. The HomePNAtechnology facilitates data communication over existing customerpremises telephone wires by multiplexing data carried over Home PNA withvoice signals and xDSL signals. The HomePNA technology uses thefrequency band above 2 MHz. The connection to the HomePNA networkutilizes an RJ 11 port 62 attached to the (in-home) HomePNA networkinterface 32 (see FIG. 2).

In an alternative embodiment, the home network is formed by using thehome electrical power line network. In this embodiment, voice servicesare delivered through the power network using communication technologyoverlaid on the power line. A power line network interface is thenrequired to be implemented inside the communication gateway. Theinterface is also provided with an AC plug port to connect to the powerline network.

In yet another-embodiment, the home network may utilize the SharedWireless Access Protocol (SWAP) defined by the HomeRF working group as abasis to distribute voice services to various telephone devices insidethe subscriber home. Other services, such as video and data services,can also be provided through the HomeRF SWAP home network. The HomeRFSWAP is designed to carry both voice and data traffic in the 2.4 GHzband using frequency hopping spread spectrum technology. The SWAPinterface inside the HNG is connected via an antenna 64 to (SWAP-based)in-home network interface 32.

HNG 30 can also support other home network interfaces, including acordless telephone base station, a PCS base station, or an Infrared DataAssociation (IrDA) based network interface. Other network interfaces,including the IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface and the “Bluetooth”interface can also be supported by HNG 30.

In general and in accordance with the present invention, HNG 30 includesa translator function within processor 52 that provides the ability toconvert the in-home networking protocol-related information to HFCnetwork parameters. These parameters can subsequently be used by the HFCnetwork elements, include CMTS 12 and CMS 16. Given that the in-homenetworking protocols mentioned above do not have knowledge of thespecific protocols used within the HFC network, the translator providesthe ability to map HFC-specific messages to corresponding in-homenetwork parameters. In the case that there are no messages in thein-home networking protocol which are equivalent to those used in theHFC network, the translator mediates between the two networks to insurethat communications are established with the appropriate bandwidth andlatency requirements. The translator function, as will be described indetail below, can be a process running at the application layer or,alternatively, it can be implemented as a protocol layer under theapplication layer and connected to both “legs” of the protocol stack.

The home networking gateway of the present invention allows for theextension of multiple-service operator (MSO)-based services deliveredthrough the HFC network to home devices attached to a home network.While home networking technologies are typically designed for home-basedapplications such as audio/video distribution, home automation andcomputer networking, use of a home networking gateway will diversify theapplications to include MSO-based services. In particular, MSO-basedservices includes audio/video entertainment, high-speed data access(e.g., Internet access), voice telephony, video telephony and streamingmedia. For these services to be widely deployed, cable requirements interms of network manageability and Quality of Service (QoS) must besupported by the home network technology.

In a preferred embodiment, HNG 30 is provided with network managementfunctionality including “device discovery”, configuration, andmanagement services and resources management for insuring servicequality in the home network. Device discovery can be performed usingdiscover protocols supported by the home network. This functionalityallows HNG 30 to discover the devices present in the home network.Additionally, new devices can use the discovery protocol to join thenetwork and request services through HNG 30. HNG 30 can also usewell-defined SNMP and MIB interfaces for configuring and managing thedevices in the home network. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, adevice database 62 is maintained in communication with HNG 30 asillustrated in FIG. 3. HNG 30 then utilizes device database 62 toretrieve configuration files and upload the files to a specific devicefor configuration or other purposes.

In performing service management, HNG 30 controls access to MSO-basedservices. HNG 30 can obtain from NMS/EMS authorization andauthentication information to subscribers to access services or,alternatively, by consulting its service level agreement (SLA) database64 to see if the service is listed for the home. In this embodiment, SLAdatabase 64 contains the services authorized in the home services by HNG30 as well as the class of service (e.g., premium, standard or basic)with which the subscriber has signed. The service level agreement isalso related to how the network resources are managed by HNG 30. As anexample, data services can be delivered using different transmissionrates wherein a basic class corresponds to the lower transmission rateand, therefore, also to the limited bandwidth allows for usage by thedevices supporting the data services. The service level agreement alsodetermines the QoS guaranteed for each service. In one embodiment,contention for service is resolved using a prioritization scheme basedon the service level agreement. As an example, voice service may havepriority over data service, which may, in return, be provided prior todistributing video signals in the home network. Alternativeprioritization schemes can be used based on the SLA to allocatebandwidth or, in general, resources to devices and services.

Other functionality that can be implemented-inside the home networkinggateway includes routing and bridging among in-home network-attacheddevices-and-service-specific metering for billing purposes. In thisembodiment, the home networking gateway communicates with a centralizedbilling service to control service usage by time, by bytes, or by calls.Additionally, a home networking gateway formed in accordance with thepresent invention may use tunneling or other well-known protocols tosupport virtual private network (VPN) technology. In this embodiment,the home networking gateway performs service-specific privacymanagement, allowing for businesses to extend their network to otherlocations by securely transmitting the data via the HPC network.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a home networking gateway formed in accordancewith the present invention can support the “discovery” of a deviceconnected to the network via an in-home networking protocol (block 70),and can also report the presence of this device to a network/elementmanagement system 68 (see FIG. 3), for the purposes of inventorymanagement (block 72, FIG. 4). For example, this may include the abilityto determine if the subscriber has paid for and is authorized to receivea particular service. The device may then request a particular service(block 74) from home networking gateway (HNG) 30, and once HNG 30 hasconfirmed with NMS/EMS 68 that the device is authorized for that service(block 76), may request that service (block 78) from the Call ManagementSystem (CMS) 16. Upon receiving authorization from CMS 16, HNG 30 canprovide service to the device (block 80). The service requested may bean MSO-based service such as a voice or video service. In thisembodiment, the grant of service implies that resources needed-to meetthe service level agreement are available for that service in both thehome network and the HFC network.

FIG. 5 contains a flow chart illustrating the various steps involved ina bandwidth allocation process as administered by a home networkinggateway. As with the service authorization process flow discussed above,the bandwidth allocation process starts with HNG 30 performs a devicediscovery operation (block 90) to determine the protocol and connectioncharacteristics of each device coupled to the in-home network, reportingthese results to NMS/EMS 68 (block 92). In an exemplary arrangement, HNG30 discovers a device and its service requirements, including the typeof flow (i.e., asynchronous or synchronous) and the bandwidthconsumption. In the case of a synchronous flow, such as transmission,bandwidth can be pre-allocated for that device. In this particularexample, the device (or service) makes a request for “bandwidth” (block94). An authorization step is performed at NMS/EMS 68 to determine ifthis particular device/service may utilize the requested bandwidth(block 96) and upon receiving authorization, the device contacts CMTS 12for the bandwidth (block 98), where CMTS 12 then allocates the requestedbandwidth on the HFC network (block 100). HNG 30 will then, in turn,allocate the requested bandwidth on the in-home network to therequesting device.

FIG. 6 illustrates the protocol architecture of an IEEE 1394 HNG, inwhich in the protocol stack on the HFC side, designated 120, uses DOCSISand MGCP protocols 122,124 in combination with IP/UDP/RTP protocols 126,128, 130 to allow for communication over the HFC network 132. Theprotocol stack on the home network side 134 contains the stacked layersfor performing 1394-based operations through a 1394-based network 136.As illustrated in FIG. 6, telephony application 138 receives signaling,voice or DOCSIS packets from HFC network 132 and generates, through atranslator function 140, equivalent packets for transmission to a deviceattached to 1394-based network 136. As an example, a ringing requestreceived from MGCP layer 124 is translated into a 1394 packetpre-configured for ringing the destination device.

A serial bus manager (SBM) 142 provides the basic control functions tocontrol the nodes and to manage the bus resources. A component of SSM142, defined as the Isochronous Resource Manager (IRM), centralizes theservices needed to allocate bandwidth and other isochronous resourcesincluding isochronous access to the bus for sending voice packages. Theother protocols in the stack on in-home network side 134 (i.e.,transaction layer, link layer, physical layer) are described in the IEEE1394 standard and are also well-known in the art.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of call flow for establishing a voiceconnection between two devices attached to an IEEE 1394-based in-homenetwork through an HFC network. In particular, the call flow of FIG. 7depicts a method of extending the QoS provided inside an HFC networkinto the in-home network by reserving resources in both networks. Asshown, call flow starts with a first device (denoted DEVICE_(O)) goingoff-hook (A). The off-hook state is detected by the home networkinggateway attached to DEVICE₀ (denoted HNG₀), when then receives thedigits entered by the device (B). The digits are then sent to theassociated call management system (CMS_(O)) (C) which, in return, issuesa create-connection (CRCX) request to HNG₀ (D). HNG_(O) acknowledges theconnection with a session description protocol (SDP) packet (E) thatspecifies the client address at which audio data is to be received, thetransport protocol, the port identifier and the audio profile. The audioprofile defines the transmission format (which can be based on G.711,G.729, or any other accepted audio transmission format). The call flowfor establishing a voice call between two clients attached to a cablenetwork is further described in detail in the “PacketCable Network BasedCall Signaling Protocol” specification as well as in the “PacketCableDynamic Quality-of-Service” specification, and is considered well-knownin the art.

As further illustrated in FIG. 7, the destination CMS (denoted CMST)sends a CRCX to the destination HNG_(T) with the SDP parameters sent bythe calling HNG_(O) (F). In this embodiment, destination HNG_(T)calculates from the SDP parameters the resources needed for that calland reserves those resources inside the home network. As alsoillustrated in FIG. 7, destination HNG_(T) communicates with itsisochronous resource manager (IRM) (G) which can be located insideHNG_(T) to allocate bandwidth for the call being established. A channelallocation process (H) is also performed by destination HNG_(T) tospecify the channel to use for that call. Similarly, the destinationdevice (DEVICE_(T)), performs bandwidth and channel allocation from theIRM (I). In this embodiment, destination HNG_(T), after-reservingresources inside the home network, exchanges messages with the CMTSDynamic Service Addition (DSA) to reserve resources inside the TIFCnetwork (J). Once the resources are reserved on the DOCSIS layer,originating CMS_(O) sends a modify-connections (MDCX) request to callingHNG_(O) to reserve resources in the home network. As previouslydescribed with respect to destination HNG_(T) and DEVICE_(T), DEVICE_(O)and HNG_(O) also reserve resources through its IRM, as shown in FIG. 7.Originating HNG_(O) also reserves resources through the CMTS before aringing request (RQNT) is sent to destination HNG_(T) (M).

The call flow illustrated in FIG. 7 shows only the signaling between thein-home network attached device, the HNG, the CMS and the CMTS. It is tobe understood that additional signaling, well-known in the art and notshown here, is performed between the originating CMTS and CMS and thedestination CMTS and CMS.

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative protocol stack useful in implementingthe home networking gateway of the present invention when used with a“Bluetooth” in-home network 200, where the Bluetooth network isdescribed in detail in a “Bluetooth Version 1.0” specification. Asshown, the protocol stack on the HFC network side 210 is essentiallyidentical to that described above in association with FIG. 6. In thiscase, telephony application 220 utilizes the Bluetooth Service DiscoveryProtocol (SDP) 230 to determine the services available within Bluetoothnetwork 200. For example, the home networking gateway can use this SDPprotocol to discover devices with telephony services capabilities. Thisfunctionality of the HNG will be described further below in associationwith FIG. 10. The Telephony Control Specification—Binary (TCS-BIN) 240is used by telephony application 210 to set up and control a voice callsession. TCS-BIN 240, upon initiating a voice connection, gives controlto speech control layer 250, which connects (or disconnects) the speechpath. Telephony application 210 also makes use of the link layer throughthe TCS-BIN and SDP protocols. In particular, the link layer containstwo protocols, Link Manager Protocol (LMP) 260 and Logical Link Controland Adaptation protocol (L2CAP) 270. LMP 260 is responsible for link setup between Bluetooth devices, including security aspects such asauthentication and encryption, as well as for controlling the connectionstates of the Bluetooth devices. L2CAP 270 adapts the upper layerprotocols over the baseband 280. It also provides protocol multiplexingcapability, segmentation and re-assembly operations to the upper layerprotocols.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary call flow for establishing a voice callsession between two Bluetooth devices through the HFC network withsupport of QoS in both networks. In a preferred embodiment, DEVICE_(O)establishes a L2CAP connection (a) with its HNG_(O) whenever it comesinto range to avoid lengthy call set-up due to the paging procedure.DEVICE_(O) sends a TCS-SETUP message (b) to HNG_(O) to initiate a call.The TCS-SETUP message contains various information, including the callclass that specifies if the call is destined for an external network,the bearer capability, the calling party and the so-called partynumbers. The bearer capability information indicates which bearerchannel is to be used during the call. For a voice call, a synchronousconnection-oriented (SCO) bearer channel is indicated and an SCO link(c) with the indicated packet type and voice coding will be used in thespeech path set up by speech control protocol 250. Originating HNG_(O),upon receiving a TCS-SETUP from DEVICE_(O), establishes a MGCP/DQOS callsetup as described above in association with FIG. 7. Destination HNG_(T)then sends a TCS-SETUP message (d) to the called Bluetooth device(DEVICE_(T)), following a ringing request (e) received from CMS_(T). Asshown in FIG. 9, the SCO link is established before accepting the call,using a CONNECT message sent to destination HNG_(T) by the calledBluetooth DEVICE_(O). At the originating side, a SCO link-is alsoestablished by HNG_(O) prior to accepting the call. As previouslydescribed, in establishing the SCO link, the HNG or Bluetooth telephonedevice commits to use the parameters indicated in the bearer capabilityelement of the TCS-SETUP message.

FIG. 10 contains a flowchart for “discovering” Bluetooth devicesattached to a home networking gateway in accordance with the presentinvention. In particular, the HNG searches for Bluetooth devices thatare in range through a Bluetooth inquiry process (step 300), and thenestablishes a link (step 310) with each of the discovered devices. TheHNG then uses the SDP protocol (step 320) to find devices havingtelephony service capability and stores the address of each device (step330) in a local storage medium. The results can also be transmitted(step 340) to an element management system (EMS) for inventory purposes.

The foregoing merely illustrates various embodiments of the presentinvention. Those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerousarrangements which, although not explicitly shown or described herein,embody the principles of the invention and are within the spirit andscope thereof.

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A system that provides an interface between ahybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network and an in-home communications networkcomprising: a home networking gateway that includes: a translator formapping between HFC-based communication protocols and in-homenetwork-based protocols; a home network interface connection module forsupporting a pre-defined in-home communication protocol; a voicetelephony service connection module, coupled to the home networkinterface connection module, for providing communication with in-hometelephony devices; a data service connection module for providingcommunication with in-home data-based devices; a communication buscoupled to each of the voice telephone service connection module, thedata service connection module and the cable modem connection module forenabling communication between each module; and a device databasecoupled to said home networking gateway and comprising configurationfiles associated with various in-home telecommunications devices. 15.The system as defined in claim 14 wherein the voice telephony serviceconnection module comprises a subscriber line interface circuit (SLIC)connection.
 16. The system as defined in claim 14 wherein the dataservice connection module comprises an Ethernet connection.
 17. Thesystem as defined in claim 14 wherein the in-home network protocol is awireless service protocol.
 18. The system as defined in claim 17 whereinthe wireless protocol comprises the Shared Wireless Access Protocol(SWAP).
 19. The system as defined in claim 14 wherein the in-homenetwork protocol comprises the Home Phoneline Network Alliance (HomePNA)protocol.
 20. The system as defined in claim 14 wherein the in-homenetwork protocol comprises the IEEE 1394 FireWire protocol.
 21. Thesystem as defined in claim 14 wherein the home networking gatewayfurther comprises an internal battery power supply.
 22. The system asdefined in claim 14 wherein the home networking gateway furthercomprises a digital signal processor (DSP) coupled between the voiceconnection module and the home network interface module to distributevoice signals from said voice communication module into the in-homenetwork through said home network interface module.